if we are in a natural warming trend since the end of the little ice age, we would expect most recent years to be the hottest.

The little ice age was from the 16th-mid-19th century, and on average temperatures were to have dropped by 0.4C-0.6C. (Also interesting to note, the temperature drop wasn't necessarily global and for a period was localized in Europe. Compare China and Western North America to Europe in the charts. The same cannot be said about recent increases.)

Why discount gases as having effect when the basic science points to the composition of the atmosphere altering temperatures on planets see Venus and Mars and the basic research on the absorption properties of C02 shows that it will absorb more energy than Nitrogen and Oxygen.

Well, climate is a complex science, and the above points pretty much simplify things, but I don't think we can point towards this being all a part of the natural cycle and be satisfied. How is this happening? If this is a natural warming effect, what will be the end point? What will be the effect on the planet? How should we prepare, and is there anything we can do (other than pray to volcanos to erupt?)

Hey Jerome, even Nature has to have reasons for doing thing. Where is your scientific proof that it's just a "natural warming trend" and how do you define that term? How come Nature all of a sudden decided to raise temperatures suddenly just like the form of a hockey stick? Funny that.